DDD Partners LLC Has $20.18 Million Stock Holdings in Southern Company (The) $SO

Key Points

• DDD Partners LLC reduced its stake in Southern Company by 12.7%, owning 219,704 shares valued at approximately $20.18 million as of the end of the second quarter.
• Southern Company posted earnings of $0.91 per share in its latest quarter, falling short of estimates, although revenue of $6.97 billion exceeded expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, which will be paid on December 8th, providing a dividend yield of 3.1% based on an annualized payout of $2.96.

DDD Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO - Free Report) by 12.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 219,704 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 31,878 shares during the quarter. Southern accounts for 2.2% of DDD Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. DDD Partners LLC's holdings in Southern were worth $20,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Southern by 23.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,005 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Southern by 4.1% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Southern by 6.4% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Southern by 2.5% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 13,761 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Southern in the first quarter valued at $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company's stock.

Southern Stock Performance

SO traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $96.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 240,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,058,203. Southern Company has a 52 week low of $80.46 and a 52 week high of $100.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $94.21 and its 200-day moving average is $92.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $105.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.43.

Southern (NYSE:SO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.70 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southern's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Southern in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Southern from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $99.30.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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